ATTACHMENT IN GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY. PART 2. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

The article presents a review of empirical research on attachment styles in the context of group psychotherapy. This review includes issues related to three main points: 1) how do participants with a particular attachment style function in groups?; 2) how effective is group psychotherapy for participants with a specific attachment style or dimension? and 3) is it possible to change the style of bonding as a result of psychotherapy? Research in this area is growing and provides us both further research hypotheses and guidance for specific diagnostic and therapeutic practice. For example, according to research, attachment style turns out to be a predictor of completing therapy by patients with eating disorders, avoiding attachment style is associated with less self-disclosure during the group psychotherapy and a greater probability of drop-out in tasks groups, increased group cohesion is associated with the effectiveness of group psychotherapy in participants suffering from eating disorder with high levels of anxiety in attachment relations, and the group climate turned out to be a moderator between attachment styles and the effects of group psychotherapy in patients with different diagnoses. This text is the second part of the article, the first part concerned the theoretical implications of the attachment theory to group psychotherapy.